Kamala Harris

Kamala Devi Harris }} (born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th and current vice president of the United States since 2021, serving with President Joe Biden. She is the first female vice president, making her the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as both the first African American and the first Asian American vice president. Harris is the Democratic Party's nominee for U.S. president in the November 5, 2024 election. She served as a U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021, and earlier as the attorney general of California.

Born in Oakland, California, Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She began her law career in the office of the district attorney (DA) of Alameda County, before being recruited to the San Francisco DA's Office and later the city attorney of San Francisco's office. In 2003, she was elected DA of San Francisco. She was elected attorney general of California in 2010 and reelected in 2014. Harris was the first woman, African American, and Asian American to hold these offices in the state's history.

Harris served as the junior U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021. She defeated Loretta Sanchez in the 2016 Senate election to become the second Black woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the U.S. Senate. As a senator, Harris advocated for stricter gun control laws, the DREAM Act, federal legalization of cannabis, and reforms to healthcare and taxation. She gained a national profile for her pointed questioning of Trump administration officials during Senate hearings, including Trump's second Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

Harris sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, but withdrew from the race before the primaries. Biden selected her as his running mate, and their ticket defeated the incumbent president and vice president, Donald Trump and Mike Pence, in the 2020 election. Presiding over an evenly split Senate upon entering office, Harris played a crucial role as president of the Senate, casting more tie-breaking votes than any other vice president, which helped pass bills such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 stimulus package and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. After Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election, Harris launched her own campaign with Biden's endorsement. She chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Provided by Wikipedia